When considering all the costs an Uber driver must take into account, one of the most important is the insurance cost since this is directly linked to the value of your car. The more expensive your car, the higher your policy, however, there are other factors involved in car insurance, and we will go over them in this article as well as review the top ten cars we consider are worth their value while reducing insurance overheads.
What are the insurance rate factors?
Here are the seven main factors that make up an insurance price:
- Personal Credit Rating
2. Age
3. Gender
4. Driving record
5. Address/Zip code
6. Vehicle Make
7. Vehicle Model
The first factor is based on how you managed your finances during your life; the second and third are you, the fourth is how you managed your driving experiences about law and order, the fifth is where you live, and the last two are the driver’s vehicle make and model.
Now that we know what the insurance ratings are about let’s look at the only part of the list we can influence, the cars. Since there is no way, you can change the rest without either major surgery or, some real estate changes, or some serious online hacking. (Which we don’t condone).
What all drivers must take into account, in ride-sharing, the cheapest car is nor the best; neither is the most expensive ones. Ridesharing, like many things in life, is about balance, the balance between comfort, size, safety, driver comfort, gas usage and finally price.
Here is a list of cars we think are the best for Uber driving due to their low insurance value:
Honda Odyssey (2018)
MSRP 29-46K, seats 7-8, 19 city, 28 hwy MPG, 280 HP, USNews ranking 9.3.
Honda CR-V (2017)
MSRP 24-33K, seats 5, 25-28 city, 31-34 hwy MPG, 184-190 HP, USNews ranking 8.8.
Dodge Caravan (2007)
MSRP 2-2.5K, seats 2 - 7, 20 city, 26 hwy MPG, 150-180 HP, USNews ranking 7.
Jeep Patriot Sport (2017)
MSRP 18-25K, seats 5, 20-23 city, 23-30 hwy MPG, 158-172 HP, USNews ranking 5.6.
Toyota Prius C (2018)
MSRP 20-25K, seats 5, 48 city, 43 hwy MPG, 99 HP, USNews ranking 7.5.
Jeep Compass (2017)
MSRP 21-29, seats 5, 22-23 city, 30-32 hwy MPG, 180 HP, USNews ranking 7.2.
Ford Escape (2018)
MSRP 24-34K, seats 5, 20-23 city, 27-30 hwy MPG, 168-245 HP, USNews ranking 8.4.
Buick Encore (2018)
MSRP 23-32K, seats 5, 24-27 city, 30-33 hwy MPG, 138-153 HP, USNews ranking 8.0.
Jeep Cherokee (2018)
MSRP 24-37K, seats 5, 18-21 city, 24-30 hwy MPG, 184-271 HP, USNews ranking 7.6.
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid (2017)
MSRP 27-34K, seats 5, 34 city, 30 hwy MPG, 194 HP, USNews ranking 7.9.
Kia Sorento (2018)
MSRP 26-46K seats 5-7, 17-21 city, 23-28 hwy MPG, 185-290 HP, USNews ranking 8.6.
Lexus NX Hybrid (2017)
MSRP 38K, seats 5, 33 city, 30 hwy MPG, 194 HP, USNews ranking 8.2.
Review of findings
The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid 2017 won the US News best compact SUV for 2017.
We added the Kia Sorento and Lexus NX Hybrid as an afterthought, they are not the cheapest or most economical car and wanted to put it in as a kind of balance to show you the range of prices, power, seating and gas consumption ratios.
Most of the cars we chose were mini-vans and SUV’s which provide a more comfortable, spacious and safe drive, and are also more beneficial to the drivers driving experience.
Categories
These cars all fall into a specific number of categories that make them attractive; the list is as follows:
Car owner profile: The cars we noted are mainly driven by families, as such they provide a safe and familiar view and surrounding to passengers
Car safety: These cars have proven over time their safety in road handling, collision control, and impact security.
Car size: Since these cars are minivans and SUV’s they are all middle to a large range and as such provide a perfect and comfortable ride.
Car price: These are not the cheapest cars, but are all easy to replace
Choosing the vehicle to buy
When deciding which vehicle to buy, you must take into account a few more factors, more personal ones, such as your ability to finance the purchase or loan repayments and your ability to handle the car. However, there are other less personal issues to consider, such as:
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Minivans are good for UberXL, which provide an incentive to drivers by paying more than regular Uber rides.
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Delivery services since these vehicles are large and can allow the driver to convert them into delivery vans very quickly and in between passenger rides.
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Power sliding doors are a great way to offer easier access to the car and are good when dealing with drunk or unruly passengers, as well as for the larger pets.
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Space, space, and more space, the larger the interior, the more relaxed and comforting is the ride to the passenger.
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Gas consumption ratios in minivans have improved drastically over the last decade due to the excessive use and preference of families and drivers globally that demand SUVs and minivans to conventional sedans.
The final word on choice; pick the car to suit the kind of driving and passenger you wish to accept on a daily basis. If you want to flow with teenagers and parents, then pick a compact SUV or full-size SUV. For students pick a Jeep, if you are going for the night crowd and drunks then get an SUV with power sliding doors. If you are going for business and professionals, pick a black sedan, or large black SUV.
A quick word about Toyota Prius
Toyota Prius is one of the most driven rideshare cars because of its hybrid technology that reduces gas consumption radically. Also, the used car price is so low, that most drivers prefer to find used Toyota Prius for their rideshare work.
Where do you drive?